Looking back at the Lecture : Week One

This week has come with two firsts- my first anthropology class and my first blog…and it hasn’t been easy. I'm finding it quite a struggle to get to grips with the differences in thinking required, approaching the lecture from a drama studies point of view as opposed to an anthropological one. I am used to analysing performances from a solely theatrical point of view, reviewing the technique used, or perhaps the effectiveness of certain dramaturgical features used, with little regard to the actor/performer involved. For this module, I realise importance falls on the people behind the performance. When, where, why and how people dance, with importance similarly placed on cultural, social, even economical factors. Where the drama course focuses on the falsehoods of performance, now I must also learn to focus on the more personal realities of it.

The week one lecture focused mainly on introducing the three main components to consider when analysing dance from an anthropological perspective. Swedish anthropologist Helena Wulff names these as meaning, function and choreography. I look forward to exploring different dance styles with these three categories in mind, as I felt I knew little of the dance styles we watched short video clips of in class. These included ceroc and chacha. I have dance experience in tap, jazz and a little hip hop, but have never ventured elsewhere, so I am excited to get out there and learn about new styles. I will definitely look into classes in the area and anticipate the ensembles classes in the coming weeks!

Before the week one lecture I would probably have answered the question, “Why do people dance” with a feeble response such as “They enjoy it” or “It's good exercise” at the very most. The lecture managed to open my eyes to the fact that people dance for many different reasons: letting off steam and channelling energy, perhaps as a form of protest and, in my opinion most interestingly, as a method of communication, often offering people a certain “fix of companionship”. Having really only approached dancing from a child's/young person's point of view (having learnt as a child) I have never learnt the more potentially romantic/passionate styles of dance, or really any partner-requiring dance form. I look forward to learning more of the social aspects of companionship etc from dance as the module continues.

The closing workshop section of the class proved highly beneficial in again highlighting the need for me to change and even challenge my own way of thinking. The questions asked to the tutor by the class were different to those I would have personally asked. They almost seemed rooted in psychology as opposed to a solid theory that I could comfortably research/learn, with questions such as, “Does dancing act as therapy for you?” and “How does it feel when you're dancing.” It proved thought provoking and interesting and I feel this practice will have helped me immensely by the time we hold the same interview-style workshop with the visiting dancers in weeks to come.